Rivals dash for cash

Ritter catching up; Beauprez's total still $100,000 more

Stuart Steers and Michael Malik, Rocky Mountain News

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

The race for the Colorado governorship has developed an unexpected dynamic, with Democrat Bill Ritter outpacing Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez in fundraising, most recently by a 2-1 ratio.

While Beauprez still has a slight lead in overall fundraising, Ritter has established a formidable base of financial support. This has surprised many observers, who assumed an incumbent Republican congressman would have an advantage over a former Denver district attorney.

"Ritter is not the dream candidate for significant fundraising," said Denver pollster Floyd Ciruli. "He doesn't come from the business community, and he's probably never raised more than $150,000. He's an improbable candidate to be at $2 million."

In the first two weeks of July, Ritter raised $121,000 while Beauprez took in $57,279. Ritter has been out-raising Beauprez since the beginning of the year.

But Beauprez started out stronger. Since the campaign began, Beauprez has raised $2.1 million to Ritter's $2 million.

"We feel very good about where things are," said John Marshall, campaign manager for Beauprez. "We've been real encouraged."

However, Ritter has managed to tap into a base of support from business people that might otherwise go to a Republican candidate. At least some of that support may be a reaction to last fall's election over Referendum C, which was heavily backed by the business community. Beauprez opposed Referendum C, while Ritter backed it.

Beauprez was in a fierce battle with Marc Holtzman for the party's nomination until last month, and he tried to appeal to the GOP's anti-tax primary voters. That may have cost him some business support.

"The Republican business community has become alienated from the Republican base over fiscal matters," said Ciruli.

John Ikard, the president and CEO of First Bank, is a Republican who is backing Ritter. Ikard has been friends with Ritter since the two men attended Colorado State University, but he likes Beauprez and donated to his campaign early on. Ikard said the fight over Referendum C, which voters approved, was important to many business people, who feared that state budget cuts would decimate Colorado's colleges and roads.

"A who's who of Republican business people backed Referendum C," he said. "Beauprez was against it. That was what separated Beauprez from the business community."

In addition, Beauprez endorsed two of this year's ballot initiatives that business interests are expected to oppose.

One, Amendment 38, would make it easier for voters to overturn government decisions by petition. Beauprez withdrew his endorsement of that amendment earlier this month.

Beauprez has also endorsed a proposed amendment that would rescind at least part of Referendum C.

Marshall said Beauprez had backing from both supporters and opponents of Referendum C. He predicted the business community would eventually rally around Beauprez, a former banker.

"They'll want a governor who has walked in the footsteps of small-business people," said Marshall.

Recent polls have shown Ritter with a lead over Beauprez, although many voters have yet to pay much attention to the race. Ciruli said that is also likely helping Ritter raise money because many people who do business with the state want to have a good relationship with the governor.

"Some of the money isn't partisan," said Ciruli. "If Ritter has a chance of winning, they want to be there."

Ciruli said he expects both Ritter and Beauprez will raise more than $4 million before the November election.

He said the splits in the Republican party over Ref C had hurt Beauprez, who was widely viewed as the front-runner in the race for governor just a few months ago.

"Beauprez is a businessman who's raised millions before," said Ciruli. "He starts from a much stronger position, but he hasn't been able to capitalize on it."

The money machine

Candidates for the state's biggest races have been fattening their war chests in preparation for a busy fall. Here's how they stand:

The governor's race

The secretary of state's race

MIKE COFFMAN

• Party: Republican

• Most recent period: $22,490

• Total raised to date: $200,513

• Cash on hand: $101,556

KEN GORDON

• Party: Democrat

• Most recent period: $13,130

• Total raised to date: $85,012

• Cash on hand: $37,911

The state treasurer's race

MARK HILLMAN

• Party: Republican

• Most recent period: $16,492

• Total raised to date: $237,373

• Cash on hand: $148,856

CARY KENNEDY

• Party: Democrat

• Most recent period: $12,340

• Total raised to date: $207,602

• Cash on hand: $172,530

The attorney general's race

FERN O'BRIEN

• Party: Democrat

• Most recent period: N/A

• Total raised to date: $42,080 *

• Cash on hand: N/A

JOHN SUTHERS

• Party: Republican

• Most recent period: $17,060

• Total raised to date: $285,636

• Cash on hand: $229,166

* Fundraising as of last filing. All dollar figures rounded up to the nearest dollar.